Kaiser Permanente to open CareClinic at Bartell Drug Store
Kaiser Permanente and Bartell Drugs are teaming up to create a CareClinic at the Gig Harbor drug store.
The new clinic will open June 12, according to Kaiser Permanente media relations specialist Jackson Holtz.
Group Health Cooperative started the partnership with Bartell in 2014. Kaiser acquired Group Health in a deal that was finalized in February of this year.
“When Kaiser took over Group Health, they told us right away that they wanted to continue the CareClinics and they hoped to add more,” Ric Brewer, Bartell’s senior communications director said.
There are 12 similar CareClinics in Western Washington, mostly in King and Snohomish counties. In addition to the new Gig Harbor facility, Kaiser also plans to open CareClinics in Snoqualmie and Redmond later this year.
The Gig Harbor clinic will be the first on the west side of Puget Sound, Holtz said, and the second new clinic that’s been opened since Kaiser took over.
The city issued a tenant improvement construction permit for the local CareClinic on April 3, building inspector Paul Rice said. Construction was begun at Bartell a few days later.
Brewer acknowledged that the June 2 opening date makes for a tight construction schedule. “But after opening 12 other CareClinics we have a pretty good system for getting a new one up and running,” he said.
CareClinics are open to everyone — Kaiser Permanente members and nonmembers alike — ages 2 and older. The walk-in clinics are staffed by Kaiser care teams of board certified physician assistants and ARPNs. Services include treatment for minor illnesses and injuries and routine preventative care such as vaccinations.
The local CareClinic will accept many kinds of insurance, but even people without insurance — or those whose health insurance company isn’t included — will be able to get high-quality, quick and convenient care, Brewer said.
And, he added, it’s very affordable. The cost is $75 per visit for those without health coverage.
The new clinic will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We’re very excited about expanding our CareClinic concept south and west to Gig Harbor,” Brewer said. “We’re certain it will be a great convenience for people in the area who have minor ailments and don’t need or want to go to their primary care physician or to the emergency room.”
Until now, Kaiser Permanente members have had to go to Port Orchard or Tacoma to be treated for minor ailments in a Kaiser facility, so the CareClinic will be especially handy for them. “But really, everyone will benefit from this,” Brewer said. “And the fact that it’s in Olympic Village, which is such a well-used, convenient area with plenty of free parking, makes it all the more accessible.”
Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945 and is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans, Holtz said. According to a press release, Kaiser currently serves more than 11.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.
Bartell Drugs started in 1890 and is the oldest family-owned drugstore chain in the United States. Currently there are 65 Bartell stores in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.